Positivity: Compassion fills a choir’s repertoire
Bedside singers soothe the sick and the dying
By Steve Schmidt
STAFF WRITER
February 26, 2007DAN TREVAN / Union-Tribune
SANTA CRUZ – An ardent band of women in the seaside city of Santa Cruz is on a heavenly mission – they sing for the dying.
They call themselves the Threshold Choir, and they perform at the bedsides of the terminally ill, singing in intimate tones, like a mother soothing a newborn.
“We think of these as lullabies for … on the way out,†said choir founder Kate Munger.
Munger, a minister’s daughter, started the singing group several years ago. Today, the Marin County woman oversees 35 Threshold Choirs in a dozen states.
They sing a cappella in homes, hospitals and hospices, at the request of the dying and their families.
The choir members believe singing calms the fear and pain at the end of life.
“I’ve been in a lot of choirs and I’ve done a lot of singing over the years, but there’s nothing like the power of this,†said Amrita Cottrell, with the Santa Cruz choir. “It brings people back to a place of tranquillity and healing.â€
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